Kind Bars removing the word 'healthy' from labels at FDA request

The FDA has sent a warning letter to the popular "Kind Bars" to stop labeling their product as a "healthy snack."

"Your products do not meet the requirements for use of the nutrient content claim 'healthy' on a food label," the warning letter reads. The FDA specifically mentions claims such as "good source of fiber," "no trans fats," "low sodium," or "+ antioxidants," Bloomberg reports.

"Additionally, your website...states 'there's healthy. There's tasty. Then there's healthy and tasty' and 'all of our snacks are pretty much the nirvana of healthful tastiness,'" the letter continues. "However, none of your products listed above meet the requirements for use of the nutrient content claim 'healthy.'"

The FDA points out that many Kind Bars have more than the one gram of saturated fat per serving, the maximum amount to be considered "healthy" by the FDA. The Almond & Coconut bars, for example, have five grams of saturated fat per serving. That's about a third of what you're supposed to have in an entire day, the American Heart Association states.

Kind is firing back at the FDA's letter, issuing the following statement: "Nuts, key ingredients in many of our snacks and one of the things that make fans love our bars, contain nutritious fats that exceed the amount allowed under the FDA's standard. There is an overwhelming body of scientific evidence supporting that nuts are wholesome, nutritious and healthful."

Recent studies do backup those claims that nuts, on their own, are healthy. Kind points out many of those nuts also have fat amounts that exceed the FDA's limits.

Kind says it will adjust the labels on four of its products to meet FDA standards, and maintains its "snacks remain a safe and nutritious choice for fans and their families."